I have one Privet Senna [Senna ligustrina] in my yard and it is turning into a spectacular “show-off” of a shrub. It is evergreen which suggests it might be a good screening plant. I have my bird house near it, and I think the birds find the Privet Senna to be a good addition to their neighborhood.
It is a larval host plant to cloudless sulphur (Phoebis sennae), sleepy orange ((Eurema nicippi) and the orange-barred sulphur (Phoebis philea) butterflies.
Privet senna is fast-growing, often reaching its full height of 4’-8’ in a single growing season. It is a prolific self-seeder and should be pruned to prevent an abundance of seedlings. It is frost-sensitive though, so avoid winter pruning. It can also be somewhat unattractive when it becomes covered in its many large, brown seed pods. It is not salt-tolerant. It can be grown is full sun or light shade.
The end of March (2020) was especially warm and my Privet Senna started to flower.
Be sure and avoid non-native Senna pendula var. glabrata (synonym Senna bicapsularis), a category I invasive in Florida. Common names for this invasive are Christmas Senna, Christmas Cassia and Climbing Cassia.
Resources:
FNPS Plant List
https://flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-senna-ligustrina/
https://floridanativegarden.wordpress.com/2016/11/11/privet-wild-sensitive-plant-is-blooming-yellow/
2018 Oct 7 Privet Senna flowering – 3 month after planting
2018 Dec 30 – Privet Senna seed pods
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